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Where Rivers Go to Die
The stunning, new collection from the Ugandan master of Africanfuturism. A young teen, haunted by the ghost of his father, takes it upon himself to save his brother and his people from a warlord's marauding army. A frustrated detective is driven to the brink, confronting the vengeful spirit killing grooms on their wedding night. What happens when British colonials find Martians in Africa, a brash warrior battles his elders and ancient horrors in order to secure paradise for his people, or an exiled abiba is stolen away to find his true destiny?
Emerging Africanfuturist writer/director, Dilman Dila, brings us Where Rivers Go to Die , a startling collection of eight wonderful tales full of imagination, wonder, sorrow, power, and hope that weave Uganda's wonderful myth and reality with its past, present, and possible future as only he can.
Emerging Africanfuturist writer/director, Dilman Dila, brings us Where Rivers Go to Die , a startling collection of eight wonderful tales full of imagination, wonder, sorrow, power, and hope that weave Uganda's wonderful myth and reality with its past, present, and possible future as only he can.
180 pages, Paperback
Published June 6, 2023
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122 people want to read
About the author
Dilman Dila
35 books58 followersDilman Dila is a Ugandan writer and film maker.
In 2014, he was longlisted for the BBC Radio Playwriting Competition, and in 2013, he was shortlisted for the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize and long listed for the Short Story Day Africa prize.
He was nominated for the 2008 Million Writers Awards for his short story, Homecoming.
He first appeared in print in The Sunday Vision in 2001. His works have since featured in several literary magazines and anthologies. His most recent works include the sci-fi, Lights on Water, published in The Short Anthology, the novelette, The Terminal Move, and the romance novella, Cranes Crest at Sunset, which are available on Amazon.
His films include the masterpiece, What Happened in Room 13 (2007), and the narrative feature, The Felistas Fable (2013), which was nominated for Best First Feature at AMAA 2014. More of his life and works is available at his website http://www.dilmandila.com.
In 2014, he was longlisted for the BBC Radio Playwriting Competition, and in 2013, he was shortlisted for the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize and long listed for the Short Story Day Africa prize.
He was nominated for the 2008 Million Writers Awards for his short story, Homecoming.
He first appeared in print in The Sunday Vision in 2001. His works have since featured in several literary magazines and anthologies. His most recent works include the sci-fi, Lights on Water, published in The Short Anthology, the novelette, The Terminal Move, and the romance novella, Cranes Crest at Sunset, which are available on Amazon.
His films include the masterpiece, What Happened in Room 13 (2007), and the narrative feature, The Felistas Fable (2013), which was nominated for Best First Feature at AMAA 2014. More of his life and works is available at his website http://www.dilmandila.com.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 18, 2025
An interesting collection - all the stories surprised me in some ways...and I guess my favourites are depressing ones ^^' (The Last Storyteller, The Flying Man of Stone and Where Rivers Go to Die)
January 17, 2025
I wasn't sure what to expect going in as I haven't read Dilman Dila's work before. There was a really interesting mix of stories of varied lengths and very different tones. Weaving in the supernatural, the futuristic and the every day with stories that veered from unsettling to brutally bleak to hopeful, this collection was always thought-provoking.
February 20, 2024
I very much enjoyed seeing F/SF/H from a viewpoint that is not the anglo-centric same old legends and futurism. The stories are sparse and pragmatic (even bleak) and it felt like I had a direct line into verbal storytelling around a fire somewhere. My biggest complaint was the women are all super one-dimensional. If they're not a prostitute, a wife, a victim, they're completely engrossed on finding a man or what men think of them or their context to a man.
June 1, 2025
Powerful speculative stories. From detectives facing monwor to a new people fighting ghouls, the stories in this collection grounded me in their Ugandan context and made me ponder the good and evils of technology and human nature, tensions within a patriarchal society, and a future where stories written by humans are no longer the norm. 'The Flying Man of Stone' in particular haunts me as a commentary on the madness of war.
December 17, 2025
On the positive side, the collection feels like an authentic representation of a culture unfamiliar to me, one imbued with a sense of magic - either just beneath the surface or woven into everyday life. There is a strong thread of magical realism running through the stories. The two standout pieces, in my opinion, are The Last Storyteller, which skillfully blends science fiction elements with cultural nuances, and The Flying Man of Stone, which leans towards a more allegorical and magical realist tone.
On the downside, most of the stories felt underdeveloped, reading more like outlines than fully fleshed-out narratives. The heavy reliance on telling rather than showing was a particular drawback for me, as were the numerous plot holes. That said, I could imagine these as fireside tales, meant to be shared aloud in the flicker of flames, where simplicity might serve their purpose. However, as satisfying reads, they didn’t quite work for me.
On the downside, most of the stories felt underdeveloped, reading more like outlines than fully fleshed-out narratives. The heavy reliance on telling rather than showing was a particular drawback for me, as were the numerous plot holes. That said, I could imagine these as fireside tales, meant to be shared aloud in the flicker of flames, where simplicity might serve their purpose. However, as satisfying reads, they didn’t quite work for me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews